Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research is largely based on males, and females with ASD are at risk for under-identification. Research recommends listening to parent concerns since these are often predictive of a child's eventual diagnosis. This study examined how patterns of parent concerns predicted sex differences and eventual child diagnosis…

One of the earliest indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is delay in language and social communication. Despite consensus on the benefits of earlier diagnosis and intervention, our understanding of the language growth of children with ASD during the first years of life remains limited. Therefore, this study compared communication growth…

Purpose: One promising early marker for autism and other communicative and language disorders is early infant speech production. Here we used daylong recordings of high- and low-risk infant-mother dyads to examine whether acoustic-prosodic alignment as well as two automated measures of infant vocalization are related to developmental risk status…

Purpose: Identifying risk factors associated with neurodevelopmental disorders is an important line of research, as it will lead to earlier identification of children who could benefit from interventions that support optimal developmental outcomes. The primary goal of this review was to summarize research on risk factors associated with autism…

Purpose: The purpose of this research forum article is to provide an overview of a collection of invited articles on the topic "specific language impairment (SLI) in children with concomitant health conditions or nonmainstream language backgrounds." Topics include SLI, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder,…

Canonical babbling is a critical milestone for speech development and is usually well in place by 10 months. The possibility that infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show late onset of canonical babbling has so far eluded evaluation. Rate of vocalization or "volubility" has also been suggested as possibly aberrant in infants with…

This study's purpose was to modify the Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds (STAT) into a Taiwanese version called T-STAT. Study 1 included 15 children with Autism and 15 children with Developmental Delay (DD) or language impairment (LI) aged between 24 and 35 months. Study 2 had 77 young children with Autism, PDD-NOS, or DD/LI as a…

Studies have shown an increased head circumference and the absence of the head tilt reflex as possible risk factors for autism spectrum disorder, allowing for early detection at 12 months in typically developing population of infants. Our aim was to develop a screening tool to identify infants prior to 12 months at risk for autism spectrum…

This prospective, longitudinal, study charted the developmental profiles of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) identified through routine developmental surveillance. 109 children with Autistic Disorder (AD), "broader" ASD, and developmental and/or language delays (DD/LD) were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning…

Background: Autism is a global disorder, but relatively little is known about its presentation and occurrence in many developing countries, including Libya. Aims: 1.) To estimate the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders in children referred to Al-Khadra hospital (KH). 2.) To increase the awareness among pediatrician and primary health care…

Purpose: In this article, the authors present a tutorial on the use of developmental trajectories for studying language and cognitive impairments in developmental disorders and compare this method with the use of matching. Method: The authors assess the strengths, limitations, and practical implications of each method. The contrast between the…

Prospective questionnaire data from a longitudinal population sample on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), developmental delay, specific language impairment, or typical development (TD), were collected at ages eight, 12 and 24 months, via the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale Developmental Profile (CSBS)--Infant Toddler…

This report examines trends in the number of special-education students and personnel at both the national and state levels from 2000-01 to 2009-10. It finds that the overall population of special-education students, after decades of increases, peaked in the 2004-05 school year and has declined since. But within this population, individual…

Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child shows isolated structural language problems. The diagnosis of pragmatic language impairment (PLI) is given to children who show difficulties with the use of language in context. Unlike children with SLI, these children tend to show relatively intact structural language skills…

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in older children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) is challenging because of overlap in symptomatology and the high comorbidity of these disorders. On the basis of a sample of 89 older children with IDs (aged 6-15 years) referred to an ASD clinic, semistructured parent interviews were used to…